Mining planer arrangement having a parallelogram-disposed articulatedly mounted cuttig means



3,382,003 DISPOSED y 7, 1968 A. HAUSCHOPP MINING PLANER ARRANGEMENT HAVING A PARALLELOGRAM ARTICULATEDLY MOUNTED CUTTING MEANS Flled Aprll 13' 1966 IN VE N TOP f P M W M MM $0M I MM AV|\ United States Patent 3,382,003 MINING PLANER ARRANGEMENT HAVING A PARALLELOGRAM-DISPOSED ARTICU- LATEDLY MOUNTED CUTTING MEANS Alois Hauschopp, Werne an der Lippe, Germany, assignor to Wewerltschaft Eisenhutte Westfalia, Wethmar, near Lunen, Westphalia, Germany Filed Apr. 13, 1966, Ser. No. 542,302 Claims priority, application Germany, May 10, 1965,

Claims. (Cl. 299-34) The present invention relates to a mining planer arrangement having a parallelogram-disposed articulatedly mounted cutting means, especially a lead cutting means and/or bottom cutting means, and more particularly, such an arrangement in which the planes of the articulatedly interconnected mounting linkage for the cutting tools together form a parallelepiped.

In extracting mineral from a mine face by the longwall method, using a mining machine positioned for longitudinal displacement back and forth therealong in extractive engagement therewith, the cutting tools of the mining machine must be maintained in proper alignment in order to achieve efficient winning of mineral, such as coal. Typically, a mining planer is used for this purpose, which is guided along a mining conveyor, urged transversely under constant force so as to urge in turn the planer transversely against the mine face to facilitate the planing operation. Such planers often deviate from their normal longitudinal path, despite the presence of a mining conveyor or other guide means tending to keep them in positive engagement with the mine face. An expedient in the past has been the provision for a lead cutter or chisel and/or a bottom cutter or chisel positioned at the leading longitudinal end and/or along the bottom longitudinal portion of the planer, whereby to engage the mine face ahead of the engagement via the main cutting tools of the planer and/or to engage the mine floor at the intersection thereof with the mine face to prevent undesired deviation from the normal path and to permit the planer to follow consistently undulations in the mine floor and/or in the bottom marginal portion of the particular mine seam. In fact, such lead cutters or bottom cutters serve not only to guide the mining planer in the desired path but also to relieve pressure in the Working face such that the main cutting toolsof the planer may cut mineral, such as coal, from the mine face under less resistance. By underscoring the mine face at the intersection of the mine floor thereat, via such leading and/or bottom chisels or cutters, a guiding groove is provided which keeps the planer in the desired path and also which robs the mine face portion thereabove from support sufficiently to facilitate the work of the main chisels or cutters of the planer in extracting mineral thereat. By providing such lead cutters or bottom cutters in an adjustable manner, the planer may be steered or controlled in its path more or less so that the planer may follow the mine floor more precisely and/or cut more pronouncedly transversely into the mine face adjacent thereto. Such leading and bottom cutters are conveniently adjusted by the mine workman according to the nature of the mineral being extracted, for example, hard or soft coal, and according to the nature of the mine floor therein, for example, even or uneven disposition with respect to the normal longitudinal path.

Generally, in conventional mining planer arrangements, such leading or bottom cutters or chisels have been pivotally mounted thereon either about a horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the mine face or about a horizontal axis that is parallel to the mine face, or even 3,382,003 Patented May 7, 1968 about an axis that is inclined in the direction of movement of the planer and in relation to the mine floor. In the latter arrangement, the leading and/or bottom cutters may be locked at any desired angle of attack through appropriate locking means.

Where the leading or bottom cutters of conventional arrangements possess an axis which slants in the direction of movement of the planer and which is inclined toward the mine floor, an advantage is enjoyed over the alternate aforementioned prior art constructions, in that the pivoting cutters or chisels are disposed in such a manner that they pivot automatically into the mine face or into the mine floor as the case may be, so long as they are doing cutting work, and automatically pivot away when they are in the trailing position with respect to the planer as such planer is conducted in the opposite direction along the longitudinal path. However, experience has demonstrated that where particularly hard mineral, such as hard coal, and/or unfavorable seam conditions, are encountered in mining operations, the particular pivotally disposed cutter or chisel is deflected away from the mine face during the cutting stroke. This is due to the unfavorable leverage between the attack surfaces or cutting surfaces on the particular chisel and the pivoting axis. The manner in which such pivotally mounted chisels engage the mine face may be compared with the manner in which a pawl engages a ratchet. In the operative or leading direction of movement of the planer, the chisel will extractively engage the mine face in the same manner in which the pawl operatively engages the ratchet notches. In the inoperative position of the chisels, i.e., when the planer is being displaced in the opposite longitudinal direction, such chisels will trail against the mine face and do no extractive work, in the same manner in which such pawl will trail over the notches in the corresponding inoperative engaging movement thereof. However, where the chisel engages hard coal, for example, it may be forced out of the coal face in the same way as a pawl may jump out of a notch when subjected to excessive force thereat. It is this problem which is difiicult to overcome in existing mining planer equipment and which renders less efiicient than desirable the use of conventional pivotal chisels or cutters which are inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction.

Chisels of the foregoing type are generally not fastened directly to the pivoting axis, but actually form the prolongation of a flap-like part that pivots about the actual pivot axis. Such flap-like part serves firstly to span the breadth of the planer, i.e., that distance between the pivoting shaft at the pivoting axis and the mine face adjacent thereto, and secondly to exercise a shoveling or ploughing action with respect to mineral disposed therebefore in the longitudinal direction to force such mineral over into the conveyor utilized in conjunction therewith. Such mineral disposed therebefore is usually produced by the cutting action of the bottom chisel or chisels of the planer or by the action of the main chisels or cutting tools in the previous passage of the planer yet not theretofore ploughed from the planer alley onto the conveyor.

It will be appreciated that in typical longwall mining operations, the planer is disposed as closely as possible to the mine face with the distance therebetween being just sufiicient to permit the passage of the planer therealong. This distance may be termed the planer alley and such alley is filled with extracted mineral which is appropriately forced by plough-shaped surfaces on the planer itself transversely away from the mine face and onto the conveyor.

Suitably, appropriate stop means are provided with respect to pivoting cutters or chisels of the aforementioned types, which may be formed as shifting shafts which can be operated from the waste side or side of the planer remote from the mine face, and which are fitted with eccentric cam means or the like at the working face side or side of the planer adjacent the mine face, for controlling the pivotal disposition and range of limited motion of the particular cutters or chisels in question, whereby to control the cutting depth of such chisels or cutters into the mine face thereat, and/or the cutting depth thereof into the adjacent mine floor. Both actions, namely the pivoting of the chisels into the mine floor and the regulation or steering control of the cutting depth of such chisels into the mine face, are naturally interdependent, due to the adjacency of the mine face and mine floor at the intersection therebetween where the chisels in question normally operate. Both the range of pivoting of the chisels into the floor and the range of the cutting depth thereof into the mine face are increased or decreased only simultaneously, since these ranges are interdependent as aforesaid in the apex area between the mine roof and mine fioor.

It is obvious that there is only one ideal position for the bottom chisels of the planer in relation to the mine face or mine floor. This is attained in conventional constructions by a particular eccentric setting in which the chisel surfaces at the mine face side and the chisel surfaces facing the mine floor assume the most favorable position. Of course, every adjustment of the eccentric setting produces a canting of the chisel surfaces in relation to both the mine face and the mine floor.

It has been recognized in the recent past that the cutting edge life of such leading and/or bottom chisels is very greatly reduced by such severe twisting of the chisel at the mine face because of the cutting edges cannot always attack the face in the desired manner. Either the chisel becomes too sharply pointed or too blunt for given seam conditions because of this concomitant twisting, or an inadequate free cut is produced, i.e., an eflicient cut, for example, because of the turning of the chisel surfaces and the angular variation associated therewith. In consequence thereof, a decrease in the planing work effectively performed, as well as severe chisel wear, and inadequate controllability of the planer arrangement occur.

To eliminate these disadvantages, it has been proposed to modify the arrangement of the pivoting shaft with respect to the chisel itself such that the front end of such shaft in the direction of movement of the planer is disposed at the same height as the forward cutting edges of the chisel or only slightly offset therefrom. This modification offers the advantage that a stronger control of the chisel at the mine floor is provided, without thereby in creasing substantially the depth of cut. This solution, however, possesses the disadvantage that the extracted mineral, such as cut coal, in the planer alley cannot be loaded properly onto the conveyor, because the chisel no longer extends forwardly with respect to its axis of pivot, and therefore cannot guide such extracted mineral upwardly for passage onto the mining conveyor as in the previously discussed conventional arrangements. In this regard, in order to enable the advancing cylinders or other conventional urging means used to force the conveyor constantly against the mine face and thereby to achieve an effective control of the path of the planer, especially in the case of comparatively light planers, it is absolutely necessary to keep the planer alley constantly free of extracted mineral thereat, as aforesaid. In practice, this can be achieved only by the use of a bottom chisel which extends forwardly of the pivoting linkage thereof as far as possible, so that the surface thereof facing the waste side initiates the shoveling or guidance of extracted mineral thereover and onto the mining conveyor thereat. With the last mentioned modification, the vital clearance of the planer alley of extracted mineral cannot be carried out, and therefore such manner of guiding the planer in the desired way has not enjoyed widespread application in longwall operations.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the foregoing drawbacks and to provide a mining planer arrangement having parallelogram-disposed articulatedly mounted cutting means.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such an arrangement in which the planes of the articulatedly interconnected mounting linkage for the cutting tools together form a parallelepiped.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide such an arrangement in which a leading cutter and/ or bottom cutter is disposed for limited displacement via the parallelepiped linkage, preferably between an operative cutting position in which said parallelepiped is substantially a right parallelepiped to an inoperative position in which said parallelepiped is a substantially oblique parallelepiped.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a construction of the foregoing type having a parallelepiped linkage arrangement of parts in which the linkage apexes are upwardly slanted in the direction from the working point of the cutting tool longitudinally rearwardly therefrom, i.e., in the direction from the leading to the trailing portions of the planer with respect to the particular direction of movement of the mining planer arrangement.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide for the guidance of pivotal leading chisels and/ or bottom chisels in such a manner that they may be arranged an unlimited distance ahead of the main planer body in the particular direction of travel, and that, in the pivoting action of such chisel, the position of the chisel working surfaces in relation to the mine face and/ or the mine floor remains essentially unchanged.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a suitable parallelepiped linkage relationship of parts for a leading and/or bottom chisel to guide a mining planer in the desired direction so as to follow undulations in the mine fioor and also to guide the main planer constantly against the mine face to assure the most efficiently extractive engagement possible of the planer therewith.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide linkage elements whereby to attain a parallelogram-disposition of the mounting means for such leading and/or bottom cutters or chisels, which linkage elements are interchangeably positioned for replacement by alternate corresponding elements which provide a different effective linkage length.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide constructional elements to achieve the foregoing parallel linkage relationships and/or parallelepiped linkage relationship, which are simple in construction, durable in use, inexpensive to manufacture and to maintain.

Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparent from a study of the within specification and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic front elevational view of a portion of a mining planer illustrating the disposition thereat of a parallel linkage arrangement for carrying a leading and bottom cutting chisel means adapted to engage the mine face at the area thereof adjacent the mine floor, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top plan view of the arrangement of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross sectional view, taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

It has been found in accordance with the present invention that a mining planer arrangement of eflicient design may now be provided which comprises a longitudinally extending base means adapted to be conducted longitudinally back and forth along a mine face adjacent the corresponding mine floor and having longitudinally spaced apart leading and trailing base pivot axes means thereon, a longitudinally extending cutting tool carrier means transversely spaced from said base means and correspondingly having longitudinally spaced apart leading and trailing carrier pivot axes means thereon, and a pair of spaced apart transversely extending leading and trailing link means, having a coiresponding predetermined transverse effective linking length, and articulatingly interconnecting said carrier means and base means via said base pivot axes means and said carrier pivot axes means in the form of a parallelogram, whereby to permit said base means and carrier means to be displaced longitudinally relative to each other. Stop means are provided operatively on such arrangement for limiting the longitudinal range of relative displacement between the base means and carrier means, and preferably such link means, base axes means, and carrier axes means are correspondingly slanted upwardly in the direction from the leading to the trailing link means.

Moreover, the leading link means is preferably provided with a correspondingly slanted slide surface extending to the mine floor for guiding extracted mineral material therebefore upwardly thereover to conduct the same onto a mining conveyor associated therewith.

Referring to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a portion of a conventional mining planer 1, such as is illustrated, for example, in each of US. Patents 3,118,657 and 3,134,581, such portion being considered in the longitudinal direction of arrow 2 to be disposed at the leading longitudinal end of the planer, the trailing end thereof not being shown but being disposed toward the right as viewed in FIG. I. At such portion of conveyor 1 base 3 is provided which includes a more or less vertical face 4. Spaced from base 3 is the carrier 5 which is provided with a similarly vertical face 6 more or less parallel to face 4. Transversely extending leading link 7 and trailing link 8 are provided which interconnect base 3 and carrier 5 in the form of a parallelogram, as may be appreciated from FIG. 2 and especially from FIG. 3.

For this purpose, base 3 is provided with leading base ears 9 and carrier 5 is provided with leading carrier ears 10 which operatively enmesh with corresponding leading link ears 11 and 12, through which the shafts 13 and 14, respectively, extend. Also, the trailing carrier car 15 and an appropriate trailing base recess 16 are provided for articulatedly mounting trailing link 8 via the interconnecting shafts 17 and 1S. Shafts 13 and 17 are disposed more or less in the same vertical plane corresponding to vertical face 4 of base 3 while shafts 1d and 18 are similarly disposed more or less in the same vertical plane correspond ing to vertical face 6 of carrier 5, such that the planes are parallel to one another. Also, the leading link 7 and the trailing link 8 are disposed in corresponding spaced apart vertical planes which are parallel to one another, whereby to form with the first mentioned parallel planes, a

parallelepiped having the shafts 13 and 17, as well as the shafts 14 and 18, disposed at the intersecting apexes thereof.

Conveniently, leading link 7 is disposed in the form of a plate link having slide surface ll; thereat extending downwardly to the mine floor to cause extracted mineral disposed thereahead in the direction of advance of arrow 2 to be guided or shoveled thereby upwardly over the transversely extending upper cover 2b of base 3 for deposition onto a mining conveyor situated adjacent planer 1 at the side thereof remote from carrier 5. Upper cover 20 extends transversely in the direction of carrier 5 so as to protectively cover the adjacent portion of carrier 5 as well as the trailing link 8 and generally the space between carrier 5, base 3, link 7 and link 8.

From FIG. 3 may be seen the parallelogram relationship of the base 3, carrier 5 leading link 7, and trailing link 8, with the shafts 13 and 17, on the one hand, and the shafts 14 and 18, on the other hand, representing the apexes of the parallelogram in question. Actually, the planes intersecting the axes of such shafts together form a parallelepiped, which as shown in FIG. 3 represent a right parallelepiped. Of course, depending upon the positioning of stop means to determine the limited range of relative longitudinal displacement between carrier 5 and base 3, the parallelogram and/or parallelepiped in quest5 tion will change from a right parallelogram and/ or right parallelepiped to an oblique parallelogram and/or parallelepiped.

As may be seen in FIG. 1, the shafts 13, 14, 17 and 18 are incined in an upwardly slanted direction from the leading to the trailing portions of the arrangement, yet with the axes of such shafts remaining parallel to one another whereby to preserve the parallelogram and/or parallelepiped disposition desired.

A leading base stop 21 is defined at the underside of upper cover 20 and spaced therefrom at such underside is the trailing base stop 22, stops 21 and 22 being operatively spaced apart a sufficient distance in the longitudinal direction to permit the carrier stop 23 to be operatively disposed therebetween. Carrier stop 23 actually includes a leading carrier stop surface 24 and a trailing carrier stop surface 25, operatively positioned for respective limiting abutment with leading base stop 21 and trailing base stop 22. It will be realized by the artisan that trailing base stop 22 may take the form actually of an eccentrically mounted cam stop surface element which may be changed in disposition to provide a different longitudinal distance between leading base stop 21 and trailing base stop 22. This change in distance between such base stops will in turn change the range of limited relative displacement between carrier 5 and base 3 due to the fact that stop surfaces 24 and 25 will be arranged closer to or farther from base stops 2]. and 22, in dependence upon the relative position of the limting surface of the cam stop surface element of base stop 22.

As may be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the parallel linkage provided between carrier 5 and base 3 in the form of links 7 and 8, permits the forwardly disposed cutting tool 26 to be changed in position to bring the same closer to or farther from the mine floor 27 and correspondingly closer to or farther from the mine face 28, for the more efficient guidance of planer it along its normal longitudinal path and especially for the most efficient following of undulations in the mine floor by the entire planer arrangement. At may be seen in FIG. 2, the cutting tool 26 may be displaced outwardly toward the mine face to achieve a given depth of cut and as may be seen in FIG. 1, such tool may be displaced downwardly toward the mine floor to follow the undulating course thereof, or displaced rearwardly away from the mine face or raised upwardly from the mine floor, as the case may be within the limits of relative displacement of carrier 5 and base 3 determined by the relationship of carrier stop 23 with 'espect to base stops 21 and 22. The phantom positions of cutting tool 26 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 represent the range of disposition of the cutting tool with respect to the mine floor 27 and mine face 28, in dependence, as aforesaid, on the particular disposition of the cam stop surface element of trailing base stop 22.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention, an improvement may now be provided in. a mining planer adapted to be conducted longitudinally back and forth along a mine face adjacent the corresponding mine floor for extraction of mineral from such mine face. Specifically, such improvement comprises longitudinally extending base means positioned on a corresponding longitudinal end of said planer at the bottom portion thereof adjacent the mine floor, longitudinally extending cutting tool carrier means transversely spaced from said base means, a pair of longitudinally spaced apart transversely extending link means a-rticulatingly interconnecting said carrier means and base means in the form of a parallelogram, and stop means operatively positioned with respect to said base means, carriage means and link means to permit said base means and carrier means to be limitedly displaced longitudinally relative to each other. Significantly, the planes of said base means, carrier means and link means intersect to form a parallelepiped. Preferably the apexes of such parallelepiped are slanted upwardly in the longitudinal direction from the particular longitudinal end of the mining planer to the opposite longitudinal end thereof. Advantageously, the base means and carrier means are limitedly longitudinally displaceable relative to each other from an operative position in which said planes form a substantially right parallelepiped to an inoperative position in which said planes form a substantially oblique parallelepiped.

Thus, the carrier means may be provided with a cutting tool thereon extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom in a direction remote from the base means and the link means for operatively engaging in said operative position simultaneously the adjacent portion of the mine face 'and mine floor thereat. Also, the corresponding link means adjacent such cutting tool may be provided with a correspondingly slanted slide surface extending downwardly to the mine floor for guiding extracted mineral material therebefore upwardly thereover to a mining conveyor (not shown) adjacent the remote side of the planer.

Preferably, the base axes means or shafts are in the form of fixedly disposed shafts. The leading lin-k means, base means and carrier means, are preferably provided with corresponding hinge projections or ears through which the base axes means and the carrier axes means, i.e., shafts, operatively interconnectdly extend. In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the base means includes an upper cover means portion operatively protectively transversely overlying at least a part of the upper portion of the carrier means and link means.

In accordance with a particular embodiment of the invention, the stop means include an operatively spaced apart leading and trailing base stop means provided on said base means and a cooperating carrier stop means provided on said carrier means at a point operatively inter-mediate said pair of spaced apart base stop means for limiting said range of relative displacement between said base means and said carrier means. Moreover, preferably, such base stop means are provided at the underside of said cover means portion and said carriage stop means is provided correspondingly on the upper portion of said carrier means intermediate said base stop means for relative movement of said base stop means and said carrier stop means with respect to each other from an operative position, in which said carrier stop means is in abutting disposition with said trailing base stop means and in which the planes of said base means, carriage means and leading and trailing link means form a substantially right parallelepiped having such slanted base axes means and carrier axes means as the corresponding planar apexes thereof, to an inoperative position, in which said carrier stop means is in abutting disposition with said leading base stop means and in which the planes of said base means, carriage means and leading and trailing link means form a substantially oblique parallelepiped having such slanted base axes means and carrier axes means as the corresponding planar apexes thereof.

Advantageously, the corresponding leading edge of the carrier means adjacent the leading link means is provided with a cutting tool means longitudinally forwardly extending therefrom in a direction remote from said trailing link means yet adjacent such mine floor, whereby upon displacement of said carrier means with respect to said base means, within the range of relative displacement therebetween, said tool means may be moved from an inoperative position, spaced from such mine floor and from a mine face adjacent said carrier means and in which said carrier means is transversely closer to said base means, conforming to said oblique parallelepiped, to an operative extractive engagement position, in which said tool means extractively engages simultaneously such mine floor and mine face and in which said carrier means is transversely farther from said base means, conforming to said right parallelepiped. Preferably, each such link means is correspondingly replaceably connected via the axes means or shafts for interchange with alternate link means having a different transverse effective linking length.

Thus, the cutting tool means may have a cutting point normally extending in said operative position transversely beyond the corresponding outer edge portion of said carrier means remote from said base means and downwardly beyond the corresponding lower edge portions of said base means, said carrier means, and said link means.

It will be appreciated by the artisan that the angle of incline or slant of the axes or shafts can be selected advantageously so as to correspond with the most favorable conditions for attacking the mine face. Thus, in the case of hard coal and a good seam floor or floors, a higher perpendicular angle of tilt, i.e., with respect to such mine floor, will be provided whereby to permit a comparatively greater swing into the mine face along with only a slight swing into the mine floor. On the other hand, in the case of a poorer seam floor or mine floor and soft coal, a higher horizontal tilt of the axes of such shafts will be desirably provided so as to achieve a greater rising and falling action, i.e., undulating travel of the planer, in relation to the mine floor, along with only a slight variation of the cutting depth at the mine face.

If the axes or shafts interconnecting the spaced apart links with the base, i.e., the shafts on the waste side of the arrangement remote from the mine face, are provided as stationary axes or shafts, then the cutting action will be within a limited range of displacement parallel to the mine face or parallel to the mine floor throughout the pivotal range of movement of the parallelogram-disposed linkage. By reason of the transverse links, the parallelo gram or parallelepiped disposition of the various parts Will be assured as Well as a reliable guidance of the carrier for the cutting tools in a direction parallel to the base means.

By providing the leading and transverse links as interchangeable parts having different shaft spacings, i.e., different transverse effective linking lengths, the same carrier and cutting tool may be utilized having greater or lesser depth of cut, or a slighter or more pronounced rotation thereof about the axes of the shafts in question, depending upon the particular interconnecting links utilized and in turn their transverse effective linking length. This permits the arrangement to adapt to particular seam conditions since different transverse links will determine the range of cutting action of the cutting tool and the path thereof with respect to the axes or shafts.

Most importantly, in accordance with the present invention, the carrier may now be provided with a cutting tool which may be set unlimitedly far ahead of the pivoting linkage, i.e., axes or shafts, whereby good loading work via the slanted slide surface at the leading link will be attained, with the assurance that during the pivoting of the cutting tool or chisel away from the mine face and/or away from the mine floor, the cutting angles of such tool or chisel in relation to the mine face or mine floor will remain unaltered. Thus, a longer cutting edge life of the chisels will be enjoyed, inasmuch as the cutting edges thereof will always attack the mineral, such as coal, in the same manner and in a way which is most advantageous for a particular chisel shape. Furthermore, by providing interchangeable links in turn with different axial spacing of the hinged interconnections between the links and the base and carrier means, the cutting specifications may be modified with versatility to achieve an intentional canting of the cutting tools or chisels in the pivoting action. Additionally, due to the double articulation permitted by a parallelogram linkage of the instant type, the cutting tool will always be urged into the mine face and the mine floor during the cutting stroke, i.e., during the advance of the mining planer in the given corresponding operative direction, and such cutting tool will not be pivoted out of the mine face or caused to deviate from its normal path because the same may encounter hard coal, as occurred heretofore. The very appropriate parallelogram disposition of the pivot axes of the linkage in question permits a leverage to be exerted on the cutting tools or chisels with respect to the mine 9. face and/or mine floor under the tractive force of the planer being displaced along its longitudinal path, which is more or less independent of previous considerations which led to the various disadvantages hereinbefore discussed. By such parallel axes linkage disposition, the cutting chisels will operate in the desired forward longitudinal direction without deviation, i.e., within the limits of their range of pivotal movement, whe eby markedly precise control of the guidance of the mining planer may be attained not only with respect to its path of movement along the mine face but also with respect to its path of movement along the mine floor. Accordingly, in any of the positions of the cutting tool (see FIGS. 1 and 2), the parallel linkage mounting of carrier with respect to base 3 will assure an absolutely parallel pivoting in relation to the mine face and mine floor along the predetermined longitudinal direction.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the parallelogram linkage construction of the leading and/ or bottom cutter may be placed at both longitudinal ends of the particular mining machine, such as a mining planer, although the arrangement of such parallelogram linkage is only shown at one such longitudinal end of a mining planer. Thus, one particular parallelogram linkage will come into operation when dis-posed at the leading longitudinal end of the planer in the given direction of longitudinal displacement thereof, while the other corresponding parallelogram linkage at the trailing longitudinal end of the planer, with respect to such direction, will be swung away from the mine face and upwardly from the mine floor. In the opposite direction of movement of the planer, of course, the correspondingly opposite operation will occur, i.e., the parallelogram linkage previously considered to be the trailing linkage will come into operative engagement with the mine face and mine floor, while the previously considered parallelogram linkage in such extractive engagement, will be swung away from the mine face and upwardly from the mine floor.

It will be appreciated, in accordance with the present invention, that in the outermost or operative position of the particular parallelogram linkage, the base and carrier need not be disposed in a right parallelogram or right parallelpiped disposition together with the transverse links, but rather such base and carrier need only be spaced transversely from one another a greater distance than that distance when in the inoperative position, the latter being considered one in which the parallelogram or parallelepiped arrangement contains a smaller acute angle between the appropriate portions of the leading link and the carrier than when such link and carrier are in the former or operative position.

In connection with the angle of slant or incline of the respective shafts or axes means, depending upon the particular type of mine face and/ or mine floor being worked, the particular angle of slant may be varied, by the use of suitable interchangeable elements (not shown), whereby to achieve different angles of incline. Specifically, the various ears or hinge projections may be provided with separately longitudinally spaced apart sets of openings, whereby to achieve with appropriately inserted shafts, different angles of incline, such that the appropriately positioned links may in turn be disposed at different angles of incline. Of course, the carrier may be replaced by different carriers dimensioned to be usable with such shafts and links at predetermined preferred corresponding angles of incline, and While such alternate carriers are not shown, their constructions and arrangements will be obvious to the artisan in the light of the instant disclosure.

While the base shafts are preferably fixed shafts, the carrier shafts are displaceable, at least in the sense that while the base and the corresponding shafts or axes means thereof are stationarily disposed at the appropriate longitudinal end of the mining planer, the carrier and the corresponding shafts thereof will be displaceable via the parallelogram linkage arrangement in the longitudinal di rection with respect to the base, the base shafts or axes means, and the mining planer itself. The base shafts may also be fixed from rotation once inserted in place, but of course the base shafts and the carrier shafts may be appropriately positioned as axle shafts which may rotate Within the appropriate ears or hinge projections to facilitate the articulate or pivotal movement of the adjacent links.

It will be appreciated that the instant specification and drawings are set forth by way of illustration and not limitation, and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention which is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Mining planer arrangement which comprises a lon gitudinally extending base means adapted to be conducted longitudinally back and forth along a mine face adjacent the corresponding mine floor and having longitudinally spaced apart leading and trailing base pivot axes means thereon, a longitudinally extending cutting tool carrier means transversely spaced from said base means and correspondingly having longitudinally spaced apart leading and trailing carrier pivot axes means thereon, and a pair of spaced apart transversely extending leading and trailing link means, having a corresponding predetermined transverse effective linking length, and articulatingly interconnecting said carrier means and base means via said base pivot axes means and said carrier pivot axes means in the form of a parallelogram, said link means, said base axes means and said carrier axes means being correspondingly slanted upwardly in the direction from said leading to said trailing link means, whereby to permit said base means and carrier means to be displaced longitudinally relative to each other.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1 wherein stop means are provided operatively on said arrangement for limiting the longitudinal range of relative displacement between said base means and said carrier means.

3. Arrangement according to claim 2 wherein said leading link means includes a correspondingly slanted slide surface extending to such mine floor for guiding extracted mineral material therebefore upwardly thereover to conduct such material onto a mining conveyor with which such mining planer arrangement is adapted to be associated.

4. Arrangement according to claim 3 wherein said base axes means are in the form of fixedly disposed shafts.

5. Arrangement according to claim 3 wherein said leading link means, said base means and said carrier means are provided with corresponding hinge projections through which said base axes means and said carrier axes means operatively interconnectedly extend.

-6. Arrangement according to claim 3 wherein said base means includes an upper cover means portion operatively protectively transversely overlying at least a part of the upper portion of said carrier means and said link means.

7. Arrangement according to claim 6 wherein said stop means include a pair of operatively spaced apart leading and trailing base stop means provided on said base means and a cooperating carrier stop means provided on said carrier means at a point operatively intermediate said pair of spaced apart base stop means for limiting said range of relative displacement between said base means r and said carrier means.

8. Arrangement according to claim 7 wherein said base stop means are provided at the underside of said cover means portion and said carrier stop means is provided correspondingly on the upper portion of said carrier means intermediate said base stop means for relative movement of said base stop means and said carrier stop means with respect to each other from an operative position, in which said carrier stop means is in abutting disposition with said trailing base stop means and in which the planes of said base means, carrier means and leading and trailing link means form a substantially right parallelepiped having such slanted base axes means and carrier axes means as the corresponding planar apexes thereof, to an inoperative position, in which said carrier stop means is in abutting disposition with said leading base stop means and in which the planes of said base means, carrier means and leading and trailing link means form a substantially oblique parellelepiped having such slanted base axes means and carrier axes means as the corresponding planar apexes thereof.

9. Arrangement according to claim 8 wherein the corresponding leading edge of said carrier means adjacent said leading link means is provided with a cutting tool means longitudinally forwardly extending therefrom in a direction remote from said trailing link means yet adjacent such mine floor, whereby upon displacement of said carrier means with respect to said base means, within the range of relative displacement therebetween, said tool means may be moved from an inoperative position, spaced from such mine floor and from a mine face adjacent said carrier means and in which said carrier means is transversely closer to said base means, conforming to said oblique parallelepiped, to an operative extractive engagement position, in which said tool means extractively engages simultaneously such mine fioor and mine face and in which said carrier means is transversely farther from said base means, conforming to said right parallelepiped.

10. Arrangement according to claim 9 wherein each said link means is correspondingly replaceably connected via said axes means for interchange with alternate link means having a different transverse effective linking length.

11. Arrangement according to claim 9 wherein said cutting tool means has a cutting point normally extending in said operative position transversely beyond the corresponding outer edge portion of said carrier means remote from said base means and downwardly beyond the corresponding lower edge portions of said base means, said carrier means, and said link means.

12. In a mining planer adapted to be conducted longitudinally back and forth along a mine face adjacent the corresponding mine floor for extraction of mineral from such mine face, the improvement which comprises longi tudinally extending base means positioned on a corresponding longitudinal end of said planer at the bottom portion thereof adjacent the mine floor, longitudinally extending cutting tool carrier means transversely spaced from said base means, a pair of longitudinally spaced apart transversely extending link means articulatingly interconnecting said carrier means and base means in the form of a parallelogram, the upwardly extending sides of the parallelogram being slanted in the direction from said longitudinal end of the mining planer to the opposite longitudinal end thereof, and stop means operatively positioned with respect to said base means, carrier means and link means to permit said base means and carrier means to be limitedly displaced longitudinally relative to each other.

13. Improvement according to claim 12 wherein the planes of said base means, carrier means and link means intersect to form a parallelepiped.

14. Improvement according to claim 13 wherein said base means and carrier means are limitedly longitudinally displaceable relative to each other from an operative position in which said planes form a substantially right parallelepiped to an inoperative position in which said planes form a substantially oblique parallelepiped.

15. Improvement according'to claim 14 wherein said carrier means is provided with a cutting tool thereon extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom in a direction remote from said base means and said link means for operatively engaging in said operative position simultaneously the adjacent portions of the mine face and mine floor thereat, and wherein the corresponding link means adjacent said cutting tool is provided with a correspondingly slanted slide surface extending downwardly to the mine floor for guiding extracted mineral material therebefore upwardly thereover to conduct such material onto a mining conveyor with which such mining planer is adapted to be associated.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 862,433 1/1953 Germany. 903,805 2/1954 Germany. 859,464 1/1961 Great Britain.

ERNEST R. PURSER, Primary Examiner. 

1. MINING PLANER ARRANGEMENT WHICH COMPRISES A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING BASE MEANS ADAPTED TO BE CONDUCTED LONGITUDINALLY BACK AND FORTH ALONG A MINE FACE ADJACENT THE CORRESPONDING MINE FLOOR AND HAVING LONGITUDINALLY SPACED APART LEADING AND TRAILING BASE PIVOT AXES MEANS THEREON, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CUTTING TOOL CARRIER MEANS TRANSVERSELY SPACED FROM SAID BASE MEANS AND CORRESPONDINGLY HAVING LONGITUDINALLY SPACED APART LEADING AND TRAILING CARRIER PIVOT AXES MEANS THEREON, AND A PAIR OF SPACED APART TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING LEADING AND TRAILING LINK MEANS, HAVING A CORRESPONDING PREDETERMINED TRANSVERSE EFFECTIVE LINKING LENGTH, AND ARTICULATINGLY INTERCONNECTING SAID CARRIER MEANS AND BASE MEANS VIA SAID BASE PIVOT AXES MEANS AND SAID CARRIER PIVOT AXES MEANS IN THE FORM OF A PARALLELOGRAM, SAID LINK MEANS, SAID BASE AXES MEANS AND SAID CARRIER AXES MEANS BEING CORRESPONDINGLY SLANTED UPWARDLY IN THE DIRECTION FROM SAID LEADING TO SAID TRAILING LINK MEANS, WHEREBY TO PERMIT SAID BASE MEANS AND CARRIER MEANS TO BE DISPLACED LONGITUDINALLY RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER. 